Dark of the Moon

Virgil Flowers kicked around for a while before joining the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. First it was the army and the military police, then the police in St. Paul, and finally Lucas Davenport brought him into the BCA, promising him, "We'll only give you the hard stuff." He's been doing the hard stuff for three years now, but never anything like this.

Escape Clause: A Virgil Flowers Novel, Book 9

The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota zoo. Two large and very rare Amur tigers have vanished from their cage, and authorities are worried sick that they've been stolen for their body parts. Traditional Chinese medicine prizes those parts for home remedies, and people will do extreme things to get what they need. Some of them are a great deal more extreme than others - as Virgil is about to find out.

Dead Watch

In Washington, D.C., a cell phone rings. The White House chief of staff needs Jacob Winter now. His chief investigator and an Army Intelligence veteran, Winter knows how to move quickly and decisively, but he's never faced a problem like this. The disappearances are bad, but when the blackened body shows up barbed-wired to a tree, Winter knows there is much worse to come. And soon enough, there is. Large forces are at work, determined to do whatever it takes to achieve their ends.

The Night Crew

Best-selling author John Sandford takes all the action and suspense of his acclaimed Prey novels and heads west to the dark gleam of L.A.- where the Night Crew works. A mobile unit of video freelancers, they prowl the midnight streets to sell to the highest network bidder. Murders. Robberies. High-speed chases. For them, it is an exhilerating life. But tonight, two deaths will change everything.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye: A Harry Bosch Novel, Book 21

Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from 30 years with the LAPD speak for themselves. Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire has less than six months to live and a lifetime of regrets. He hires Bosch to find out whether he has an heir.

Uncaged: The Singular Menace, Book 1

Shay Remby arrives in Hollywood with $58 and a handmade knife, searching for her brother, Odin. Odin’s a brilliant hacker but a bit of a loose cannon. He and a group of radical animal-rights activists hit a Singular Corp. research lab in Eugene, Oregon. The raid was a disaster, but Odin escaped with a set of highly encrypted flash drives and a post-surgical dog. When Shay gets a frantic 3 a.m. phone call from Odin - talking about evidence of unspeakable experiments, and a ruthless corporation, and how he must hide - she’s concerned.

Night School: A Jack Reacher Novel, Book 21

It's 1996, and Reacher is still in the army. In the morning they give him a medal, and in the afternoon they send him back to school. That night he's off the grid. Out of sight, out of mind. Two other men are in the classroom - an FBI agent and a CIA analyst. Each is a first-rate operator, each is fresh off a big win, and each is wondering what the hell they are doing there. Then they find out: A jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany, has received an unexpected visitor - a Saudi courier seeking safe haven while waiting to rendezvous with persons unknown.

Saturn Run

The year is 2066. A Caltech intern inadvertently notices an anomaly from a space telescope - something is approaching Saturn and decelerating. Space objects don't decelerate. Spaceships do. A flurry of top-level government meetings produces the inescapable conclusion: Whatever built that ship is at least one hundred years ahead in hard and soft technology, and whoever can get their hands on it exclusively and bring it back will have an advantage so large, no other nation can compete.

Rampage: The Singular Menace, Book 3

Shay Remby and her band of renegade activists have got the corrupt Singular Corporation on the run. Their exposé is finally working. Or is it? Even as revelations about the human experimental subjects break in the news, Singular's employees are slithering out of sight. And then their CEO is killed in a plane crash.... Was it a freak accident? Or a cover-up?

No Man's Land: John Puller Series

John Puller's mother disappeared nearly 30 years ago. Despite an intensive search and investigation, she was never seen again. But new allegations have come to light suggesting that Puller's father - now suffering from dementia and living in a VA hospital - may have murdered his wife. Puller is officially barred from working on the case and faces a potential court-martial if he disobeys the order, but he knows he can't sit this investigation out.

The Whistler

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined.

Memory Man

Amos Decker's life changed forever - twice. The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good and left him with an improbable side effect - he can never forget anything.

Publisher's Summary

Some secrets just can't stay buried, in the brilliant new Lucas Davenport thriller from the number-one New York Times- bestselling author. "One of the best," said Kirkus Reviews of Storm Prey. "Razor-sharp dialogue, a tautly controlled pace and enough homicides for a miniseries. What more could fans want?"

A house demolition provides an unpleasant surprise for Minneapolis - the bodies of two girls, wrapped in plastic. It looks like they've been there a long time. Lucas Davenport knows exactly how long.In 1985, Davenport was a young cop with a reputation for recklessness, and the girls' disappearance was a big deal. His bosses ultimately declared the case closed, but he never agreed with that. Now that he has a chance to investigate it all over again, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: It wasn't just the bodies that were buried. It was the truth.

I have been an avid follower of John Sandford, originally consuming the first 14 one after another in winter of 2003. But gosh what happened? I thought this was boring. It missed the energy and life. I may have missed the books immediately before this one... now I'm curious if there was a slow decline or what happened. Could it be me?

I LOVE Richard Ferrone! No problem there. It was the plot and the fun personal details that always livened up the book. This one plodded along.

Would you ever listen to anything by John Sandford again?

I am listening to Stolen Prey right now. It is also missing the verve! But at least the plot is more colorful than Buried's boring revisit to the past. I might try the 2013 Silken before I give up. Not sure. Depends on how good some other mysteries are to lure me further away from the Prey series.

What about Richard Ferrone’s performance did you like?

The voice!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I've been a fan of Lucas Davenport for over a decade, so it was a pleasure to listen while on a road trip. But, it was a bit predictable, the plot, the formula.... very familiar.Still, John Sanford keeps me intriqued and interested all around.

Could you see Buried Prey being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

But if you have as high an opinion of John Sandford's work as I do, you'll recognize he's still doing the same stuff he's already done. Nothing new. An inspired plodder. Easy to listen to...but don't expect anything remarkable...because there isn't anything remarkable.

The splitting of this story into two time periods wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but the part that happened 20 years ago when Lucas was but a puppy seemed to drag a bit. Better a slow start and a strong finish than the reverse. The villain in this novel was really an evil guy but we didn't learn much about him until the second half of the story. There was a twist with one of the main recurring characters that really added to the intrigue of this story. It got me more emotionally involved than I usually get with the Davenport series. Narrator Ferrone performed as well as I've come to expect. He's really nailed down the perfect tone for reflecting a sense of frustrated acceptance for what life or fate has brought to many of the characters. I look forward to the next Sandford effort involving Davenport or Virgil Flowers (who appeared briefly in this one).

This is my 4th or 5th Sandford now, I think only my second Lucas Davenport, the others being Virgil Flowers. It was a good story, interesting how he went back 25 yers or so and tied a younger Lucas to a current crime. I suppose Minnesotans appreciate the twin cities geographic references, personally I don't know the city or state well enough to know all the places. But the story and narrator kept my attention, I was entertained and that's what I want out of a book.

This may appear again now and then.
Dear God: Please let this man write another book soon and please let me be here to listen to it. I can't say something like 'even his worst book is good' because I can't think of anything he's done that is worse than anything else.
Before I post this list I have to say that Sandford, Parker and MacDonald are EXTRA special. And Richard Ferrone as John Sandford's voice is an amazing match. Like George Guidall with Craig Johnson and pretty much anything George reads.
Robert B. Parker lived in this space for me as did John D. MacDonald, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, John Hart, Craig Johnson, John Lescroart, William Kent Krueger, Ridley Pearson ,and Jonathan Kellerman. Some others are really good but these guys have something special. If you are into mystery-thrillers I just gave you a back catalog I wish I could have...but I HAVE had it and it is an incredible treasure. I stopped going to libraries and swap places just so I can encourage these guys by sending them money. Please enjoy.

I truly enjoyed this classic Davenport novel. Our flawed hero and his gang finally get to right a wrong from long ago. This case dogged Lucas and Dell, knowing for sure the wrong guy got pinned for the crime. They were left to wonder just how many more girls would become victims of this unidentified pedophile.
This story presents the villain as a big greasy loser, a child's true nightmare. Lucas and troop peruse this bad guy, inviting us along for the ride.
The plot takes the usual twits and turns, and although not a deep read this book delivers just what one expects, a good mystery.
And as always the reader is perfect for this character and this series; an enjoyable listen for sure!.

John Sandford is at the absolute top of his game in the much awaited (by me, anyway) return of Lucas Davenport, and Richard Ferrone does another superb job as the narrator.
Flashing back to Davenport's earliest days as a beat cop on the Minneapolis police force, we get to meet and get a good feel for the various characters that populate later novels, as well as get a handle on Davenport's less-than-exemplary motivations and very believable character flaws. It's a great device that allows the listener to enjoy the earlier, more devious Davenport before he became so happily married to the wonderful Weather.
But then we flash forward to the present to find him consumed with personal hatred towards a horrible and truly creepy killer, without really causing too much trouble at home.
In all, it's a great listen that is difficult to interrupt. But like a favorite meal you haven't had in a long time, it's best if you make yourself slow down and enjoy every bite of it.

John Sandford is one of my favorite authors, but it feels like the Prey series is getting a little tired. I felt like this book was missing the surprises and that the story was too simple. Usually there are some twists, but with this book the case was solved a little too easy. I suggest checking out Sandford's Flowers series instead.